Piazza Duomo

Alba, Italy

No.16

What to expect: A taste of Piemonte, one of the finest food and wine regions of the world, through the sharply focused culinary lens of Enrico Crippa, now firmly established as among Italy’s most creative chefs. Diners can select from the à la carte options, or choose from three tasting menus, one of which focuses specifically on the local Langhe region, while the others are more wide-ranging (while still distinctively Italian). During white truffle season, tables are at even more of a premium than usual.

More about the chef: Crippa opened Piazza Duomo in 2005 with the backing of the Ceretto family, themselves pioneers in the region’s winemaking resurgence of recent decades. A quiet and supremely dedicated professional, he trained and worked extensively in Europe and Japan and was mentored by the late great Italian chef Gaultiero Marchesi.

Highlights: The restaurant’s most famous dish is the Salad 21, 31, 41, 51, which incorporates a cornucopia of leaves, herbs and vegetables, the precise number and make-up of which changes according to the season. However, it is the array of one- or two-bite flavour-filled starters – also primarily sourced from Piazza Duomo’s own farm-meets-kitchen garden, and served simultaneously – that linger longest in diners’ memories.

And finally: Restaurant manager Vincenzo Donatiello leads a highly personable young service team in the restaurant’s two dining rooms – one that is famously pink-hued. Donatiello also happens to be one of the best sommeliers in Italy, if not the world, combining access to the Barolos and Barbarescos on his Langhe doorstep with a personal passion for Burgundy to curate a wonderful wine list full of surprises.